The headliner coming in was the heavyweight freshman clash between potential No. 1 NBA Draft picks Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa, and for stretches Saturday it looked exactly like advertised inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Peterson was electric in his limited run, scoring 18 points in only 20 minutes before cramps sent him to the bench. Dybantsa answered after a slow start with 17 points on efficient shooting.
But when the game was to be decided, it was a third freshman who mattered most in the Jayhawks' win.
Tiller delivered the most complete night of his young career, scoring a career high 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds to key the 90-82 Kansas win. Kansas head coach Bill Self liked how Tiller attacked from the opening tip.
“I thought he was aggressive,” Self said. “I think when you play a big guy the way we’re playing him, which we think that’s the best way to play for the best of our team, but it may not be the best way to play for him individually sometimes.”
Tiller’s jumper set the tone, opening with three straight makes from beyond the arc. Soon, the rest followed: basket cuts and physical drives. And the loudest moment of his night came off that perimeter threat, a pump fake that freed him to get downhill for a driving dunk that brought Allen Fieldhouse to its feet.
“I feel like my teammates just trusted me to be aggressive,” Tiller said. “I feel like that’s gonna open up a lot of things for them on the court as well.”
His teammates had their own theories for what unlocked it.
“The reason he played like that, I was in his ear,” said Melvin Council Jr. “I can’t say what I said to him, but I like that BT.”
Tiller trusted his skills from the opening tipoff.
“I trusted my game wholeheartedly,” Tiller said. “Nobody can bring my confidence down. It’s just a matter of me being turned up.”
Kansas now heads to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Monday, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.